This invention relates to improvements in a weather strip and particularly to the weather strip for sealing a movable or lid member and a body so as to prevent invasion of rain water and wind noise, and more particularly to the weather strip used as a glass run, a door weather strip, a body-side weather strip, an inside seal, an outside seal and the like of an automotive vehicle.
In general, an automotive vehicle uses a variety of weather strips including a glass run, a door weather strip, a body-side weather strip, an inside seal, an outside seal and the like. Hitherto, it has been proposed and put into practical use that each of the glass run, the door weather strip, the body-side weather strip, the inside seal, the outside seal and the like has a slidably contacting surface portion to which a movable member such as a glass (plate) is in slidable contact. The slidably contacting surface portion is subjected to a surface treatment with a polyurethane-based or silicone-based surface treatment agent, or covered with flock or pile in order to improve a slidably contacting ability of the weather strip to the glass.
However, concerning such a slidably contacting surface portion which has been only surface-treated, the slidably contacting surface portion is high in friction coefficient and therefore inferior in durability to slidable movement of the glass. In view of this, it has been proposed to form fine unevenness at the slidably contacting surface portion by causing the slidably contacting surface portion to contain solid antifriction material such as silicone resin, polyamide resin, fluorine-containing resin, polycarbonate resin, mica, molybdenum, calcium carbonate and the like, thereby forming fine unevenness at the slidably contacting surface portion. Otherwise, it has been proposed to cause the slidably contacting surface portion to contain silicone oil which is liable to provide a surface lubricity, thereby lowering the friction coefficient of the slidably contacting surface.
Further, it has been proposed to cause the main body of the weather strip to contain a solid particle-type antifriction material thereby forming fine unevenness at a surface to which another part is contactable, or to cause the weather strip main body to contain silicone oil thereby lowering the friction coefficient of the main body, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2000-52780 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-4408.
However, drawbacks have been encountered in the above slidably contacting surface portion of the weather strip or the main body of the weather strip, in which the slidably contacting surface portion of the weather strip or the surface of the weather strip main body has a characteristics to be liable to keep thereon dust which flies and comes or exists thereon. As a result, when dust is adhered on a surface to which a glass (plate) is slidably contactable, foreign noise is generated upon lowering in speed of the upward and downward movements of the glass and during the sliding movement of the glass to the surface of the weather strip. Particularly, when a bearing pressure of the glass to the surface of the weather strip becomes considerably high, generation of foreign noise becomes predominant. In an extreme case, the slidably contacting surface portion for the glass is peeled so that the surface of the main body of the weather strip is exposed, thereby making a condition in which the glass cannot make its upward and downward movements.
Additionally, a bearing pressure of the slidably contacting surface portion to the glass is set by the assembly position of the glass and the reaction of a lip section (seal lip) having the slidably contacting surface portion to which the surface treatment has been applied. In addition to this bearing pressure, the weather strip requires a characteristics to keep or secure the glass. Thus, the weather strip requires both a slidable characteristics and the keeping characteristics for the glass. Accordingly, it has hitherto been required to set the assembly position of the glass at a considerable accuracy.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved weather strip which can effectively overcome drawbacks encountered in conventional weather strips.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved weather strip which is excellent in wear-resistance during sliding movement of another part (such as window or door glass) along the weather strip while effectively suppressing generation of foreign noise, without being affected by an assembly position of the another part.
An aspect of the present invention resides in a weather strip which comprises a main body formed of an elastomer. Additionally, a slidably contacting section to which a part other than the weather strip is slidably contactable is fixedly formed on the main body and contains a material having at least one of hydrophilicity and water absorbability. The slidably contacting section may be integral with the main body to form a one-piece structure, in which the slidably contacting section is formed of the elastomer, and the elastomer of the main body and the slidably contacting section contain the material having at least one of hydrophilicity and water absorbability.
Another aspect of the present invention resides in a weather strip which comprises a main body formed of an elastomer. Additionally, a slidably contacting section to which a part other than the weather strip is slidably contactable is fixedly formed on the main body and contains at least one material of powder material and fibrous material, having an elastic modulus ranging from 350 to 1300 MPa in a standard condition having a temperature of 23xc2x0 C. and a relative humidity of 50%.
A further aspect of the present invention resides in a weather strip which comprises a main body formed of an elastomer. Additionally, a slidably contacting section to which a part other than the weather strip is slidably contactable is fixedly formed on the main body and formed of a material having an elastic modulus ranging from 90 to 250 MPa in a standard condition having a temperature of 23xc2x0 C. and a relative humidity of 50%.